The invention relates to a device, especially for growing plants, according to the preamble of claim 1.
Devices are known from practice which are also called growing pot or growing plate. Regarding these pots the base of the respective pot is normally provided with a plurality of openings through which excess pouring water may be discharged from the pot. Such pots normally have a circular cross section conically enlarging from the base to the upper pot opening. Such pots are used in many gardening establishments and plant nurseries for the propagation, growing and further culture of plants, and may however also serve for arranging plants of either kind in the household.
With respect to such pots the following problem arises regarding the growing of the roots. If the root strikes against the pot wall, the root cannot penetrate the wall and, therefore, grows along the pot wall spirally downward to the base of the pot. As soon as the root has reached the base of the pot, the root grows annularly along the pot wall such that an uncontrolled turning growth of the roots takes place in the pot. The roots are not in a position to grow back into the centre of the pot. Such a strong turning growth of the roots may disadvantageously affect the growth of the plant especially during a later setting-out.
The essential disadvantages are to be seen in that
the predominant turning growth of the roots in the pot will also be maintained after the setting-out of the plant into open land and that the roots can only poorly break out of the turning growth. Therefore, rooting of the earth shall take place only with delay. This leads to a reduced absorption of water and nutrients by the roots;
with increasing thickness of the root the turning growth in course of time leads to a constriction of the root neck, the absorption of water and nutrients is further negatively affected thereby;
because of the reduced rooting in the earth only an insufficient anchoring of the plant in the soil takes place such that the danger that for instance deciduous trees or conifers may fall down, is substantially increased;
the reduced rooting out of the turning growth also implies an increased cultivation effort during the first time after the setting-out since an exsiccating of the conglomerate of roots may occur due to the poor rooting of the roots in the surrounding earth. Such plants are hence to be watered more often and possibly with greater water volumes.
Furthermore, so-called growing plates are known from practice which comprise a plurality of combined pots. The turning growth of the roots may in fact be prevented with respect to growing plates without base; this however leads to an increased expenditure of labour since the growing plates are to be arranged in a raised position, and only growing plates having small pots may be used, since the substrate, like for example peat, sand or a clay mixture, or the humus soil would fall through the pot being formed without base with respect to growing plates comprising pots having greater diameters.
A device according to the above mentioned manner is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,712. In this document the problem of the spiral growing of the roots is in fact mentioned, there are however proposed therein devices for preventing the turning growth which are vertically arranged at the inner wall of the pot wall. A plurality of drain holes are provided in the lower portion of the lateral pot wall.
Examples for pots having openings in the base are further known from the journal xe2x80x9cGxc3xa4rtnerbxc3x6rse 17/1995, page 746xe2x80x9d. The growing pot known from EP-A1-0 599 798 comprises a lateral drain opening debouching into a cavity which is at least partly confined to the outside by ridges. According to this document each cavity is confined by side walls.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device especially for growing plants according to which the turning growth of the roots is effectively prevented in a simple manner.
According to the present invention this object is solved by a device of the predescribed manner comprising the features of claim 1.
According to the present invention the first part of the opening is covered in the inner space of the pot by forming lateral openings by means of a ridge which is at least partly set at a distance from the base. During the filling of the pot for example with humus the ridge prevents a penetration of the humus into the at least one opening such that the opening will not be filled with earth or substrate. Thus, a radially arranged passage opening is formed respectively between the ridge and the base of the pot on each side of the ridge. As soon as the roots reach the open air through the passage opening they come into contact with light and the surrounding atmosphere, like for example air. As a result, the root tips die, and the undesired turning growth of the roots does not take place any longer. It is further advantageous that the plant will faster continue with growing after being repotted or transplanted into a larger pot or into open land, since the roots the tips of which have been died in the region of the passage openings, start at once with the new formation of roots after contact with the earth. This leads to a faster rooting out of the old conglomerate of roots and to a xe2x80x9cbetter bearingxe2x80x9d connecting between the plant and the new earth or substrate. By means of the strong new formation of the roots a good anchoring of the plant in the soil takes place in every direction such that the danger of falling down for the plant occurs less often. As a result, the prevention of turning growth of the roots of plants is effectively possible in a simple manner.
It is further advantageous that the ridge is arranged in a substantially horizontal direction or that the ridge is formed in a V-shaped manner having the tip directed to the first part of the at least one opening, wherein the tip of the ridge preferably lies in the plane of the underside of the base. The V-shaped forming of the ridge may prevent a further growing of the root over the first part of the opening and, therefore, the turning growth of the root especially regarding pots having small diameters.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the first part of the at least one opening is formed in the base like a rectangle and has a longitudinal axis extending in a radial direction of the pot. It is ensured thereby that a root growing at the base of the pot in the circumferential direction thereof reaches the region of the opening at the latest after one complete turning and, therefore, comes into contact with light and air such that a further turning growth of the root is prevented. By means of the particular formation of the at least one opening comprising two parts formed in the base and in the pot wall, the device according to the present invention may be put down on a ground without problem since the portion (cavity) arranged between the passage openings and covered by the ridge is sufficiently provided with light and oxygen also in this case.
It is further advantageous that the second part of the at least one opening formed in the region of the pot wall close to the base trapezoidally enlarges to the base or is shaped in the form of two adjacent triangular openings having tips directed to the filling opening of the pot. This embodiment of the present invention contributes to a good stackability of the subject matter of the present invention. Moreover, the second part of the at least one opening receives more light and oxygen in its portion close to the base by means of the trapezoidal or doubly provided triangular form of said second part than in a region farther away from the base.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, one end of the ridge is connected to the pot wall and the opposing, other end of the ridge is connected with the base by means of a nearly vertical wall. It is ensured thereby that the ridge is not pressed downward by a higher weight of the humus or the plant and that the cross-section of each passage opening is also completely maintained with respect to an increased weight acting onto the ridge from above. A constriction or reduction of the cross-sectional area of the passage openings are effectively prevented by such a supporting of the ridge. Large passage openings block less easy and render possible a safer discharging of excess pouring water. It is further advantageous that the ridge is slightly narrower and shorter than the underlying first part of the at least one opening formed in the base and that the wall is trapezoidally enlarged toward the base as well as slightly inclined to the edge of the pot. These features of the subject matter of the present invention favour like the predescribed trapezoidal form of the second part of the at least one opening a good stackability of the subject matter of the present invention.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the at least one ridge comprises a radially arranged, vertical partition wall on its bottom side directed to the first part of the at least one opening formed in the bottom in the level of its equally radially disposed center line over its entire length, the bottom edge of the partition wall being nearly aligned with the bottom side of the base. Thus, a circumferential further growing of the roots is effectively prevented above all with respect to smaller pots having a narrow first part of the at least one opening formed in the base, and a bridging of this part of the opening by the roots is also effectively prevented.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, four openings are provided, respectively adjacent openings enclosing an angle of about 90xc2x0 in the circumferential direction of the pot. The turning growth of the roots is further reduced thereby, since a root growing along the base in the circumferential direction of the pot early comes into contact with an opening and, therefore, with light and air and dies at its tip.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the pot wall comprises at least one substantially vertical guide rib extending away from the inner side of the pot wall in a radial direction to the inner space of the pot. The guide rib preferably has a nearly triangular cross-section decreasing from the base to the filling opening of the pot. By means of this feature a turning growth of the roots of the plants is further reduced, since the roots are already prevented from further growing in the circumferential direction of the pot above the base. As a result, the roots are early directed to the bottom and come soon into contact with one of the openings according to the present invention. The cross-section of the guide ribs decreasing from bottom to top facilitates the stacking of the device, since the guiding ribs further comprise a centering effect in the sense of a double action.
It is further advantageous that four guide ribs are provided and that respectively adjacent guide ribs enclose an angle of about 90xc2x0 in the circumferential direction of the pot. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, guide ribs and openings alternate in the circumferential direction of the pot or coincide such that a guide rib extends away from a ridge along the pot wall. Thus, the roots directed to the base by means of a guide rib come into contact with the opening after a xe2x85x9 or xc2xc turning, respectively, such that the turning growth is effectively prevented in an early state.